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Basic things to do

Engine
I used the engine out of a 1996 Passat TDI that I had owned for several years and which had had a very good life with the previous TDIClub owner. It is a 1Z, very similar to the AHU engine used in Jetta TDIs from 1996- early 1999.

I removed the engine from the Passat and then separated the transmission from the engine. Here's a last look at the Passat with the engine in it and the Eurovan with the 5 cylinder gasser in it. Thank goodness on both the Passat and Eurovan the entire front assembly can be removed in about 1/2 hour to make removing the engine a relative breeze - no need to get the cherry picker in and pull the engine way up over the front of the car - it just slides right out the front.

IMG_0798


Because I knew the history of the engine for the past 8 years I knew I had a solid engine so I did not do a complete upper and/or lower rebuild, but obviously if you can do that, all the better.

What I did do to the engine after it was out of the Passat included (most all from IDParts.com) :

  • Sachs G60/VR6 clutch, pressure plate and flywheel and throwout bearing
  • New complete timing belt kit
  • Harmonic balancer upgrade/update
  • 190 degree thermostat
  • Water pump
  • Coolant hose to cylinder head and coolant hose to heater core
  • Front and rear crankshaft seal, intermediate seal, camshaft seals
  • Oil filter flange gasket
  • Crankshaft Sprocket
  • Bosch Injection Pump seal kit
  • Crankcase breather hose
  • New vacuum lines
  • 3 mm viton injection return lines
  • fuel/air/cabin filter

and because I didn't want to replace these for a long time I also bought:
  • new a/c compressor (buy a decent one!)
  • new alternator
  • new starter (from AutoZone with a lifetime warranty)
  • new battery
  • Anything else that looked worn on the 1Z engine

I'm sure there was a lot more than that but those are the receipts I found.

Other Preparations
While the engine was out and in the open I gave it a good cleaning and made the few modifications needed for the Eurovan install. The main thing was to drill and tap two holes on the front of the block to accept 10 mm bolts, up from the standard 8 mm ones (or perhaps it is 12 mm up from 10 mm stock?). This is where the new right hand engine mount bracket is attached.

The other mod, somewhat optional if the engine is going in a 93 or a 95 Eurovan, is to drill out the hole in the back of the block where the dipstick resides on the ABL diesel engine used in Europe. In the end I decided to keep the original dipstick location, as the radiator easily pulls forward on the 93 or 95 Eurovan into the service position, making access to the dipstick in the stock location reasonable.

Justin at Greaseworks has a good overview of these two steps
here